Well the latest Macworld showed up in my mailbox this am. A front page article on the Intel switch and what it means to Mac users. I'm totally against licensing OS X to PC companies (apparently Dell has shown big interest). Apple, at it's core, is a hardware and software company, and the reason their computers are so great is tight hardware / software integration. They would lose that, and the OS's good reputation, if they licensed the OS to other companies. For those of you who don't know Apple history, they tried licensing in the 90's, and it was a disaster._________________The Seduction of the Extraordinary at the Expense of the Mundane..
PowerMac G5 Quad Core 2.5 Ghz 6 gb RAM, PowerMac G5 Dual Core 2.3 Ghz 5 gb RAM, Mac Mini 1.42 1 gb RAM, MacBook Pro 2 Ghz 1.5 Gb RAM, Mac Mini 1.66 Ghz Core Duo 1 GB RAM

I hear ya Fireman, I think licensing OS X is a bad idea. Part of what makes Apple and OSX so great, is that the software has been tailored to the hardware, and there is some nice teamwork going on between hardware and software.

However, what I oppose more than licensing OSX is letting Microsoft continue to have a monopoly on the mass market for operating systems for the PC. Sure linux is great and all, but without lots of changes, normal computer users just aren't going to go for it. However, in Linux's defense, advancements have been made, Ubuntu Linux (http://www.ubuntu-linux.org) bares a striking resemblance to MacOS, and is almost as user friendly. There are also a few more Linux distro's in development that are making Linux a much more appealing OS for normal computer users.

That's interesting to me that Dell is showing interest in a new OEM OS for their systems. Be it MacOS or something else, it will certainly make their computers more stable if windows were not the main OS

What I would like to see in the future for the PC is a move away from windows to a 'yet to be named' OS made by people, for people. And not just Microsoft's code junkies. Open source is going to gain ground very soon I think.

I think if every computer company were like Apple, (by that i mean, make their own OS and hardware to suit it.) that would be great, but reality begs to differ, everyone having different operating systems, (rather than the three or four we have to deal with now) would be much more confusing. But hopefully one day maybe all of our OS's will be able to play nicely together? Okay, i'm just daydreaming now. _________________Me with Woz!Aftershift Music Project | My Music! Feel free to download!
1.42Ghz Mini | 15" 1.67Ghz Hi-Res PowerBook G4
30GB 5th Gen iPod | 512MB Shuffle

I hear you on the Linux thing. But heres the way I see things happening:
First, a little history:
Windows for Workgroups and 3.1 were designed to capture the home market. In the business sphere prior to 1995, Novell had the market cold. Then Win 95 came out, and people said, "hey wait a sec, you can do file shares with this, and the desktop is what I'm used to using at home". So MS gained market share in the business sphere. Then came NT4, which solidified their position, along with Win 98, which cemented their position in the home market. Windows 2000 and Server 2003 came out, and by this time they were firmly entrenched in both markets. Apple recognizes that OS X does not suit the range of needs presented by the business market at this time. So they are taking the same path MS did in the 90's. They are going after the home market and the education market (remember, if you grow up using Macs, chances are that's what you'll buy when you grow up).
So the long and short of it is, I see these two things happening. In 5 years, I see Linux having about 40 % market share outside of the US, and about 20% inside.
I see Apple having about 25 - 30 % of the home market by that time, linux having about 15 %, and MS and others having the rest. I think the tide is turning for Microsoft. I know there are people who would disagree with me, but who would have said in the 50's that the big three in Detroit would have only 30% of the US car market in 40 years? Even behemoths fall, folks.._________________The Seduction of the Extraordinary at the Expense of the Mundane..
PowerMac G5 Quad Core 2.5 Ghz 6 gb RAM, PowerMac G5 Dual Core 2.3 Ghz 5 gb RAM, Mac Mini 1.42 1 gb RAM, MacBook Pro 2 Ghz 1.5 Gb RAM, Mac Mini 1.66 Ghz Core Duo 1 GB RAM

... Apple history, they tried licensing in the 90's, and it was a disaster.

What about learning from your mistakes? Should all companies that try an idea totally give up pursuing that idea, if things don't work out the first time. Things have changed in the last 10 years. I didn't see magazines with headlines reading "Is it time to Switch" etc. in the late 90's.

I'm not saying letting "any" company license OSX is a good idea. But you may want to keep an open mind.

I disagree with you. The reason Windows has a hard time is that it is put on a general hodge podge of parts from many different manufacturers. Even with a HAL, this is still a stability issue. So what's to say this wouldn't happen with OS X if, say, Dell licensed the technology from Apple? I am very loyal to Apple. I believe in the company and what it stands for, and I don't want to see OS X's credibility take a beating. I see this as a pretty black - and - white issue - they either license or they don't. I don't think they should - they would then become a software company. If they follow the success of the mini by making inexpensive Intel - based machines, they might just take away some of Microsoft's market share - as a hardware manufacturer._________________The Seduction of the Extraordinary at the Expense of the Mundane..
PowerMac G5 Quad Core 2.5 Ghz 6 gb RAM, PowerMac G5 Dual Core 2.3 Ghz 5 gb RAM, Mac Mini 1.42 1 gb RAM, MacBook Pro 2 Ghz 1.5 Gb RAM, Mac Mini 1.66 Ghz Core Duo 1 GB RAM

I don't think it is quite so "black and white". HP is branding the iPod that in no way is tarnishing Apple.

Apple and Dell, could come to an agreement on quality control standards. For all that matters Apple could supply Dell with the "critical" components seeing Dell doesn't manufacture anything. Problem solved.

Hey could you do me a favor, guys?
I posted some funny videos on my site and posted the url in the mac os x forum area, as well as the mac mini forum. One of the viewers said he saw wedding videos, which I had used the page initially for, but had changed the video source. I'm just wondering if you could check it out and tell me what you see:
http://www.svcmulti.com/video_fun.html_________________The Seduction of the Extraordinary at the Expense of the Mundane..
PowerMac G5 Quad Core 2.5 Ghz 6 gb RAM, PowerMac G5 Dual Core 2.3 Ghz 5 gb RAM, Mac Mini 1.42 1 gb RAM, MacBook Pro 2 Ghz 1.5 Gb RAM, Mac Mini 1.66 Ghz Core Duo 1 GB RAM

They were taken at an NYLF forum in San Jose, CA that both Woz and Mitnick spoke at during 2004. They were really cool people to get to meet, Woz especially._________________Me with Woz!Aftershift Music Project | My Music! Feel free to download!
1.42Ghz Mini | 15" 1.67Ghz Hi-Res PowerBook G4
30GB 5th Gen iPod | 512MB Shuffle

Woz seems like the friendliest guy and very down to earth. KM is kind of creepy!

Lol, KM's speech was actually really interesting, but he didnt divulge much more information than could be found in his book, and his speech was pretty much a plug for the book overall, not that there's anything wrong w/ that, but he was a really cool guy to talk to.

I don't think it is quite so "black and white". HP is branding the iPod that in no way is tarnishing Apple.

Apple and Dell, could come to an agreement on quality control standards. For all that matters Apple could supply Dell with the "critical" components seeing Dell doesn't manufacture anything. Problem solved.

The difference between this example is that Dell would put OS X on their own machines; HP merely engraves an iPod with its logo. A better example would be if HP built a new music player or took an existing design, say the Creative MuVo, and then put Apple's software on it and enabled the same features such as AAC DRM support and all that jazz.

The above example wouldn't be that bad for a music player because the user doesn't customize their music player much on the software end; a music player only gets its firmware from the OEM. On the OS side there is tons of 3rd party software being used and extra stuff that cannot be planned for, so putting OS X on a 3rd party machine would probably not end up being such a good idea. Considering Apple's love for proprietary control of its products and Dell's love to push its own products and get its own way, I don't think a partnership would work.

There is only one reason why HP and Apple can work together: HP merely rebrands the iPod, it doesn't have any control over where the iPod is headed in terms of its hardware or software architecture._________________Computer Engineer
Junior, Brown University
15" NC8430 HP Laptop
1.42Ghz PPC Mac Mini, 1Gb RAM, 1st Gen
40GB G4 iPod
2GB Black iPod Nano